Foxconn and TSMC Strike Deal To Buy 10 Million COVID-19 Vaccines For Taiwan 47
Foxconn and TSMC have agreed to buy 10 million COVID-19 vaccine doses for the island of Taiwan. "The two companies will be paying up to $35 a dose of the BioNTech vaccine and donating them to the government; each company has pledged to spend $175 million," reports The Verge. From the report: BioNTech is partnered with Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co. to distribute its mRNA-based vaccine, which was co-developed with Pfizer, within China. Taiwan claims that the Chinese government blocked an attempt to secure a supply of vaccines from BioNTech, and later refused an offer of vaccine donations from the mainland. With the new arrangement, however, BioNTech and Fosun are being allowed to deal with private companies rather than the Taiwanese government, which Beijing views as illegitimate.
"Since we proposed the vaccine donation and started negotiating for the purchase, there had been no guidance or interference from Beijing over the acquisition," Foxconn founder Terry Gou wrote on Facebook, in remarks translated by Nikkei. "We appreciate that the negotiation was allowed to go through as a business matter." [...] TSMC and Foxconn say the newly secured BioNTech doses will be shipped from its factories in Germany and should start to arrive in Taiwan from late September.
"Since we proposed the vaccine donation and started negotiating for the purchase, there had been no guidance or interference from Beijing over the acquisition," Foxconn founder Terry Gou wrote on Facebook, in remarks translated by Nikkei. "We appreciate that the negotiation was allowed to go through as a business matter." [...] TSMC and Foxconn say the newly secured BioNTech doses will be shipped from its factories in Germany and should start to arrive in Taiwan from late September.
Small minded. (Score:2)
With the new arrangement, however, BioNTech and Fosun are being allowed to deal with private companies rather than the Taiwanese government, which Beijing views as illegitimate.
Ah, nice to know that health and pettiness don't mix.
Re:Small minded. (Score:4, Insightful)
You were perhaps expecting better behavior from the Chinese government? Seems unlikely.
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Or do you mean the Taiwanese government? After all, numerous times they were offered the vaccine by China, but refused. The KMT party and local governments were all asking to be able to procure the vaccine on their own, but the central government refused to allow it. It wasn't until Foxconn's Terry Gou (KMT), that private companies tried and eventually found a way out of the stalemate by making a deal with Fosun.
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The "central government" of one country is refusing to allow the government of another country to acquire the vaccine. Pretty evil, right?
But it's okay, I get it. Everybody's gotta make money somehow. Here's your 50 cents.
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You were perhaps expecting better behavior from the Chinese government?
No, but the pettiness was on both sides.
Taiwan refused to deal directly with the PRC. So the PRC said "No vaccines for you."
Sure, the PRC could have taken the higher road and shipped the vaccine. That would have been "the right thing to do" especially since the PRC considers the people of Taiwan to be their own.
But Taiwan could have set aside their pride and put the welfare of their people first and asked directly.
Both sides refused to budge, like the North and South going Zax [youtube.com].
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China was going to ship the vaccine and offered many times. Taiwan REFUSED.
And the PRC REFUSED to allow Taiwan to deal with BioNTech directly.
This is like two crybabies on the playground, each pointing a finger at the other and saying, "He started it!!!"
Re: Small minded. (Score:3, Insightful)
Taiwan don't trust China to not sabotage the vaccines, and rightly so - the history of dirty tactics by the CCP is just astounding.
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Maybe, but look at the larger picture. What would the consequences to China be with such sabotage. No it wouldn't be just finger waving. No it wouldn't be war (even though wars have been fought for less). China's reputation on the world stage would be destroyed. And not just now but for decades to come. Chinese drywall and tainted milk still have consequences (even IN China) years after the events. Pettiness is one thing. Being an utter fool is quite another.
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People in China don't trust China to provide safe vaccines. Reports are the vaccines are killing people in Hong Kong.
I don't trust those reports. But a lot of people, especially Taiwanese, do.
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OK, and how's that any different that the usual news put out by some about our vaccines? In case you haven't noticed there's a LOT of Covid-19 misinformation out there covering all aspects. It's practically a battle in itself getting the truth.
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Well, if you had to choose between the Sinovac vaccine or the Moderna vaccine, which one would you choose?
Re: Small minded. (Score:2)
Is it possible Taiwan just didn't want sinovac? The only more substandard vaccine is Sputnik V. Meanwhile Pfizer and Moderna produce the top quality vaccines, so it makes sense that they'd aim more in that direction.
Though I don't understand why the Taiwanese government couldn't simply buy from biontech directly. Why do they need Beijing's permission? It's not as if they answer to Beijing.
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Biontech wasn't allowed to sell to Taiwan, or they'd risk China's ire and sanctions. It wasn't that Taiwan didn't want to buy, it was that those companies could not sell to Taiwan because of China.
P.S. Posting anon to avoid the many anonymous (50 cent party) CCP/CPC apologist coming out of the woodworks on this topic because Taiwan is mentioned.
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Re:Small minded. (Score:5, Insightful)
So you don't see any issue with the implied legitimacy of Beijing's claims to Taiwan if Taiwan were to accept the PRC's offers?
It's exactly the kind of soft-power game China has been playing for years, and you're buying into it like so many other people that don't actually follow it all very closely.
The PRC actively prevents Taiwan from interacting with the international community, in a number of ways. This is not an instance of "two crybabies on the playground", as you say below. This is an instance of one kid preventing another from playing with anyone else, and then being offended when the bullied kid doesn't want to take an icecream from them. The bully is the one in the wrong, not the one being bullied.
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Did anyone think for a second that the CCP wouldn't try to get in the way of getting vaccines to Taiwan? I mean, they're already using their Sinovac vaccine as a lever to get small impoverished nations to break off diplomatic relations with Taipei in favor of Beijing, as the CCP will not have any relations with any nation that recognizes the Republic of China as a country.
China doesn't give a shit how many people die, as long as it furthers their own interests and rhetoric. This has been true since the pu
Good (Score:2)
Good, we need them healthy and not dying from Covid to build our chips and electronics.
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Found the wumao troll!
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Re:Legitimate contract. (Score:4, Insightful)
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What?
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Actually, it's just Fosun not bringing down the wrath, because China considers Taiwan to be part of China per the Shanghai Communique. China actively refuses to deal with anyone that recognizes the Republic of China as a country - if you don't want to be shitcanned out of mainland China but still want to do business with Taipei, you have to play by Beijing's game. And Beijing isn't above using covid as a lever to get what they want - they've already been doing it with Sinovac and getting countries to stop
Population 23.57 million last year (Score:2)
10 million doses covers five million people.
That would cover health care workers and a lot of older people, so at least it's a serious lifesaver.
Taiwan = country (Score:5, Insightful)
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The official name of the country is "Republic of China."
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Because officially, according to their own constitution, the government of the Republic of China consider themselves to be the legitimate government of all of China. They consider mainland China under PRC control to be a kind of rebel province. The PRC believes more-or-less the same thing, except to them, Taiwan under RoC control is the rebel province. "Taiwan" just refers the the island.
Many residents of the island of Taiwan think of Taiwan as a separate country, and the current president of the ROC (Ts
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Taiwan is a country.
According to whom? You ask a question as if the conclusion is foregone. Many people in the world do not consider Taiwan as a country.
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Taiwan is a country.
According to whom?
Every government but China's [wikipedia.org].
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If that were the case every country would have formal embassies and the UN would recognise them. As is *actually* the case only a handful of countries formally recognise the ROC as a separate country. You would do well to read your own link.
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